In September I left work a couple hours early and rushed over to the studio which was so far west that if you're not careful you'll fall into the Hudson river. If it weren't for the modest Daily Show awning, I would have thought I was in the wrong neighborhood. No glamour here! But how much glamour does a studio need on the outside? If I've learned anything from NYC, it's that shitty exteriors do not equal shitty interiors. Just look at the meatpacking district.
I've written before about how back in September Adam and I got bumped from the show and then were lead like ponies to the Colin Quinn Show (not cancelled). After several calls to the show's ticket line, I was delighted to get a real person (who then accidentally hung up on me!), and then after several more tries, got a real person again who patched me through the first woman who apologized profusely and then gave me VIP tickets for November 29th. Hooray! Finally!
This time, Adam was not coming. The real reasons why escape me, and I find that every time I think of him and his sabotaging ways, I get so filled with overshelming resentment that I have to distract myself with something else. Lucky for me, Rowan could come. Rowan (meaning "little red-haired one") is a pretty amazing woman, and I'm pretty sure she scarcely realizes or believes it. Lovely, fun, and brainy. Hard to lose there.
Rob Corddry
This time, determined not to be at the end of the line, Rowan and I got their early. The VIP line was completely empty. I was elated to be the first in line instead of dead last. The regular line, like last time, was already formed and snaked around tbe building. I guess VIPs don't feel the need to hurry.
It was dark and unusually cold and my stylish shawl was not much of a shield against the sharp wind. We chatted for an hour, nervous and excited. At some point the door opens, and a gruff old man allowed us to use the bathroom since we wouldn't be able to during the show, and knowing me, and my unwilling familiarity with bathrooms, I knew I better go. I'm going pee at The Daily Show! WOoooo!
Soon, we were all ushered like cattle into a room and sat in seats according to our place in line. Several interns, pumped with their power and prestige, gave us the laundry list of "NOs!" for the show. No photos, and no autographs (despite the fact that I had lugged Jon Stewart's weighty "America" book along with me). That was disappointing. Well, maybe I'd nab a t-shirt or something during the warm-up session I expected ahead.
I was wrong. The Collin Quinn show had a charismatic man doing a lengthy warm-up, along with tossing out tons of goodies, and then Collin's own long and winding stand-up. The Daily Show basically had crew members who ordered you to clap, yell, and scream as loud as possible. They reminded us so often, that I actually started to feel real pressure. Like, what if we weren't loud enough? What if they were disappointed in us? Hey, it was Jon Stewart; I wanted him to love us.
The set was tiny, and surprisingly some distance from my front row/corner seat. I can't tell you what Jon Stewart said when he came out, because it wasn't much nor memorable. Despite this disappointment, the show began and so did all the excitement.
It was great fun to watch the show. One of my favorite parts was the sketch when "correspondant" Rob Corddroy did his report from the Ukraine. I was surprised to see this filmed just a few feet from Jon Stewart sitting at his desk, with Rob standing perpendicular to the desk, the left side of his arm to the audience. Behind him was a blue screen, which when shown on the monitors reflected the masses of protesters in Ukraine -- pretty realistic looking! You could tell that his standing a few feet from Jon the whole time, not being able to look at him, but still having him in his line of sight, must make keeping a straight face tough. Rob was great, and when he was over, his serious "reporter" face got all cute and sweet and he turned and waved to someone in the audience he obviously new before he exited the stage. Sometimes it's fun to see how the sausage is made!
From where we sat, we had a good view of one of the stage doors, which was wide open. Keeping one eye on it, we saw Jude Law (the guest that night) walk by, and we giggled and smiled like 15 year olds (just like when we saw The Boy from Oz).
So, Jude Law comes on and it was such a surprise. First of all, stars are always smaller/shorter than you think they'll be (and yes, Jon Stewart is tiny, 5'7 to be exact and with me being a 5'8 female, that's short to me). Jude Law was hardly an exception. But it wasn't so much his height and weight that surprised me as his shape. The best way I can describe him is as a human lollipop. He had this giant head (with those enormous steel blue eyes) and a stick-thin body. Looking as if Carson from Queer Eye dressed him (I've never liked Carson's style which has always seemed a bit ridiculous to me), with stylish blazer, jeans and boots, Jude plopped down on the seat, crossed his legs, and immediately displayed his broad, gleaming smile which I think just might have been wider than his body.
Another strange appearance moment was simply the way he sat. With those crossed legs, he jingle jangle bob bob bob his leg up and down the whole time which gave him this gay dandy feel to his well-known hetero leanings. Confusing for this American to watch. But as Hugh Grant says, "I'm not gay, I'm English."
As much as I poke fun, it was a lot of fun and a great experience for Rowan and I. We laughed, we got to drool over Jude Law, and be a part of a show we both admire and enjoy.
But the story doesn't end here. In just 2 weeks, me and another friend (Lily) will be going again. Hooray for connections! I always complain that I've never really had "connections" for anything (photo, connection for tickets, long schpiel about honesty in politics, etc. *CRY*), but hey, I have one to get tickets to The Daily Show. I could do a lot worse. :)
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